Glare of Ice run 1/11/11

A little late for a mid week run but I did get out just before 8 am to run; WOW was it ever icey.  The road was icey; the side walk was worse; the best place to run was in the crunchy snow but it's exhausting. Im tense from running on the ice and tired from running on the snow.  But that 8.4 km is done!  :) 51:47, so times acceptable.  It was a good run with good temps (a little cooler so less sweat) people seem to think it's the cold that is hard to deal with; it's really the wind and the sweat LOL.  I think I like - 5 and no wind best. Snow optional :) Going to have a chance to run in the snow again tomorrow; going to use the trail shoes possibly maybe; still have not decided if they are going back or not!

Long Run January 9

After nearly 3 months of running without doing particularly long runs, I tossed in a long run today.  If I am going to follow a program I do need to begin to ramp up the long runs again. the plan I had looked at following stared off the end of week 1 with a nice 16 km run. Im not currently there. I have only really done a few 10 km runs since the marathon and I cannot remember a longer one since then; no need. But going from 8 km this week to 16 on the weekend; toooo much. I did decide I would do 12 this week, 14 next, then 16 2 weeks from now. So I did my 12 today. Almost.

We were expecting some snow today and I was just hoping it did not rain before I was finished (snow changing to rain is so our norm....it's crappy.)  Started out about 9 am (late sigh) in some very strong wind that came and went; headed up the hill; it was very pleasant and warm (-2).  The hills were ok although speed was not terribly constant or fast. By about 2 km the little flurries started; more of a sprinkle than anything else :)

Held off to about 8 km; just as I turned onto College Road I met some other runners and the snow was getting thicker; one of the ladies had on an Orange Resolution Run jacket like the one I was wearing and we had that "heyyy nice jacket thumbs up on the Res Run" moment. I wonder who that lady was? LOL  Then off again. It was about then I kind of figured the snow was no longer a flurry but more of a steady.  Still nice. I was wearing sunglasses for the bright snow and protection against wind and snow and was pretty glad of it.

At about 9 km I was thinking that was a lot of snow!  And it was pretty heavy; I felt like a little kid out playing in the snow; it was melting on the road and starting to build up on the sidewalk but still ok.
Heading down the Old Court House Branch it started to get slick on the roads and I was getting further off when a car would come in case they were being idiots and driving super fast.  Still enjoying the run although it was getting pretty dark and the snow was starting to build up on my sunglasses; I took them off and it was brighter but snowing in my eyes now; still fun!!

Across the bridge and heading up the hill towards home; it's snowing pretty hard, but im a little bit sad to see my car come along, Scott offering a drive home; I was only .4 km off the 12 k goal, couldnt see any point in not taking the drive since i was at that moment walking in a snowbank to avoid a car; but it was a fun run!

11.6 km, 1:17:18 time. Not great, but conditions were less than ideal.

I thought I would take a little time to rest before the hockey game this afternoon but rather, I did laundry and swept, and ran around getting things done :( so hockey game was exhausting :( I could barely move! :( That wasnt' the best laid plan but really, I cannot sort out what IS a  good plan for the next 3 months :(  Moving long run day to Saturday might be my best bet ;) if the kid's hockey lets me! LOL

January 7 Run

The third run of 2011 was much better :) although it snowed all day the temperature was around freezing and it was pleasant although slushy :) planned for 8 km and despite the traffic lights 8.15 km was done in about 53:45.  Other than the car that aimed at the really large cold puddle intending to splash me; he missed (neener)! 
Hockey this morning was good; lots of work with few spares :)  Hockey with Annika was less demanding but still good exercise :)
Considering hockey this evening ;)

Mid Week Run

Work is super busy right now and I suspect it is only going to get more busy; Im going to be putting in lots of extra hours in the next few weeks :( Im going to have to really prioritize my time and do what is most important rather than what I "want" (given the choice I swear I would sleep 12 hours a day; that never happens). 
Tuesday was a wash; everyone was tired and it gets dark so early!  It's been super cold in the mornings too, warming up to near freezing during the day then being about -15 (this morning) before sun comes up. Sun has been coming up nice and bright; the days are really nice!  Too bad Im stuck at a desk or in a classroom!  :)

Wednesday after I finally finished classes and meetings and stuff I changed into running clothes and in the dying light of the day I got my 8 km in. It was a bit sluggish; I was tired and hungry and it was cold LOL.  I took almost 53 minutes to get in those 8 km UGH not so great a time.  At least the miles are in.

Im thinking I am going to start P90X this weekend; I finally got the schedule of what to do day to day, and Im determined to get some photos and start the program.  I need something to keep focus with the bad weather that might be coming.
I also got a program for a marathon that MAY just be a little bit optimistic; It's running 6 days a week and I dont know that I have that much time to commit to the one activity, along with hockey and P90X.  Something has to give a little and I think that is going to be the 6 day a week schedule (Hal Higdon). Might hunt me up a nice 4 day a week running schedule to follow LOL.  I will try to keep updating with information!
 :):):)

Goals for 2011

Im not great at sticking to goals but I do need a few to keep running ;)

1. Kms run: last year I wanted 1500 and I finished with about 1692.75. So this year Im thinking 1800 would be an awesome goal.

2.  Marathon.  Do I want to run another. YES. Im actually thinking one in spring and one in fall.  Fredericton Marathon is on my radar. Nothing for fall yet.

3. 5 K PR.  I want to get a PR in this distance this year.  Which means Im likely going to run more of them. :)

4. Weight; Id like to be 5 pounds lighter next end of year than I am now. That's doable right?

5.  Drink more water.
(there, water bottle filled)

6.  30 minutes or more of activity 6 days a week.  Not average; every day.


Ok i think that is enough for one commitment shy person lol

New Year Running

So far runs in the New Year have been....sparse lol. It has not taken much to put me off a run; a little snow, bad roads.  Scott didnt want me to get hit by a car ;) The drivers around here are a little nutso.

But ok maybe I should listen to "me" and have a little break.  Im not going to sweat it and Im going to do more biking anyway ;) and I do have access to a treadmill so it's not so bad. 

Sunday was hockey day and I did not get up early enough to separate the run from the game, so I didn't even try.  The hockey game was intense with only 1 spare per forward/back, so we skated a lot. That's just fine with me; I dont really get terribly tired ;) It was an easy game with 2 goals for me before we switched forwards and backs and I played defense and had fewer chances but that's all good because defence is fun and restful and it's good for our defence to play forward and know how. 
We took down the tree on Sunday and that took a lot of time before and after hockey.  There was a lot of cleaning to go along with the tree taking down, and I sort of got on a roll which is rare so lots of cleaning of things got done.

Monday, last day of break; sad sad day. I got up and dressed for a run but it was snowing great fat wet snowflakes and Scott said too many cars were skidding and maybe if I drove to town and ran on unplowed sidewalks it would be safer but I hate having to drive somewhere to run so I just changed into cleaning clothes and started in with floors and carpets and laundry....I wanted Annika to clean her room but she defied me and went out; so I cleaned her room for her. She thinks she got a great deal but she has NO idea what I threw away. And I love a good throw away session; I got rid of a bag of clothes and a whole bag of garbage. She wont miss a thing.  I organized her books and everything. She didnt learn much of a lesson because she has no idea what I tossed, but I had the satisfaction of throwing out loads of stuff so I figure we are even. 
Once she came home and I had most of the stuff out of her sight, I had her clean the rest while I went for a run. It was almost dark and I litterally tossed on clothes and ran out the door.  I tried to set up my new headlamp but I could not get the batteries in, and I figured if I had Scott help, I would never get out the door. It amazes me how people drive up that road!  And everyone was right all over the yellow line so it felt like every car was right on top of me. It was getting dark quickly and I was dressed brightly (pumpkin coat) but not enough apparently. No one took my elbow off but it was unnerving and I really need to go during daylight hours.
Despite the drivers it was an awesome run.  Jillian started a new program and claims it is 18 weeks to the Fredericton Marathon so I am kind of following her routine when she lets me know what it is; And I will cross train more during these cold months to come. I dont have time to be out running while it is light anyway; good looooord my schedule this semester is full! Ugh.  Tuesdays and Thursdays might be run days. Im determined to keep 3-4 runs a week going.
5.4 km in 33:53 minutes yesterday; not bad for snow and dogdging cars and snow banks. At one point I stepped to the side right into a very deep slushy puddle. That was....refreshing ;)  Ah well it's all an adventure!

New Year so far looks the Same as the Last

I have no idea why we always expect a new year to look different from the last; it's shiny and fresh, but by noon time it always looks like the last one.

Did score some running treats for christmas; a fleece hat and running socks, running tights, looser yoga pants type pants, trail sneakers (might take back; do I NEED those?), a cute shirt that Scott had to mail away for and a travel mug as well. 

Accomplishments over the Christmas minivacation? None.  Christmas was accomplished, the rest was a blur.  Running accomplishments? None.  I barely got out. Not that I had a lot of expectations.

New Year's Resolutions?  I dont have any.  Im not going into some long silly list of resolutions in attempt to make myself better this year. Im going to try to keep my head above water and keep my sanity. Are those resolutions? No different from any other year.  I am going to try to do better. But it's not a resolution.

I did not get any running in on Thursday.  After hockey it was just too nice to spend a couple of hours relaxing, did some housework.  But the hockey was pretty intense LOL no spares, no breaks for an hour.

Friday hockey was also intense; I took Holly along and she enjoyed it but I think she had no idea what to do without breaks. She was tired.

The weather has been warm but it's also been wet. Warm is relative, with temps around freezing; temps I love to run in. Nice if it's sunny tho.... lol not so great if raining. I would rather run in snow than rain; it's not so nice to run in cold rains.  It has made some pretty running scenery :)

Friday night; New Years Eve :) We signed up for the Resolution Run ages ago to get the jacket; it's a super nice jacket, all but the colour; orange and black.  I love orange but did not particularly want a hunter orange running coat to sport around town ;) It is just the right weight and very soft :) Going to be a favorite winter running coat from the Running Room :)  When it came time to go to Halifax for the run we were less than enthusiastic; weather was nice, temps were perfect, but we were tired and going all that way was not so much fun now that it was time. Nevertheless we went to Halifax and picked up the race kits; including jackets. Now I do not usually wear the race stuff to the race but all of these jackets were just so funny; I had to!  all running around in matching orange coats? Hilarious.  While at the Running Room I did exchange my tights; Adidas ones for Brooks Infiniti tights which I hope are going to stay up well; the waist drawstring was a must!  :) I hate having to constantly pull up tights! They are really nice :)

The run?  It was good....very hilly, as Halifax tends to be, but nice.  Weather really was perfect although it might have been more perfect if we had run while the sun was out.  I thought we were going to take it nice and slow but the pace was speedier than I had planned; most of the way it was great but a few times I did feel as tho I was totally out of shape LOL hills are great!  Unfortunately the run was not a full 5 k (4.7) so I dont really have a good time comparison (26:11).  I think for the lack of training it is a good time LOL Im not unhappy considering I planned to go slow and conversational with a few other friends, I ended up just running off with one while the others went their own way. So much for a social New Years Eve run!  LOL

Ah well it was a good time.

No New Years Day run. how did that happen?  I suppose I could use my new headlamp and go ;)